Cassava Yeast Bread

I have been craving for a little cassava yeast bread. I had used cassava flour in many recipes in the past. At that time, it was quite easy to find cassava flour in any nearby grocery store. So we made good use of cassava flour and enjoyed its texture in many of the recipes. Most of these recipes also contained another type of gluten free flour like rice or potato. Since cassava flour could have quite a mild and neutral taste and we wanted some flavour in the recipes so our son, who was at the time on a gluten-free diet, would definitely eat and enjoy them.

These recipes turned out to be some of my favourite healthy alternatives. I especially enjoyed the light texture and smoothness of these recipes. Unfortunately, I haven’t made most of these recipes lately, mostly due to the difficulty in finding cassava flour. No other gluten-free flour in its entirety could ever beat the texture of cassava flour.

Why Cassava Flour?

Cassava flour is a nutrient-dense option to regular flour. It is highly recommended and it seems to have gotten quite popular nowadays, as it is most often recommended for those on restrictive diets, such as a grain-free and gluten-free diets. Though this cassava flour can stand alone, most of my recipes would combine it with other types of gluten- free or grain-free flour. You should note that cassava flour is starchy and high in carbohydrates, quite unlike almond or coconut flour. However, this flour produces a better texture in baked goods than almond or coconut even if it stands alone. That is why many people like to substitute all-purpose flour with cassava flour in many quick bread recipes.

Anyway, I’ve always wanted to mix all-purpose flour and some cassava flour to make a simple (yeast) bread. I could not find cassava flour in the grocery, but I got cassava farine. And since this flour is made from dried farine, I decided that the farine would do if I processed it until it was a fine powder. The processed cassava flour give the cassava yeast bread a smooth but somewhat gritty texture that was not crumbly at all. It was a bit more dense that a regular bread, but it was certainly enjoyed by everyone.

The Cassava Yeast Bread Recipe

This cassava yeast bread recipe is quite easy to make. It is another variation of my white bread recipe. Here it is, enjoy!

I used a blender to grind the farine fine. The result is a very fine and light flour.

In a deep bowl, sift the flour and combine it with the other dry ingredients. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg and mix together the water, milk and melted butter. Mix thoroughly.

Then slowly pour into the flour mixture and beat well. Mix with a fork. Add to the flour slowly to help form a soft dough. Proceed to use your hands after a few minutes.

Lightly sprinkle flour on the work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (this might take about 10 minutes).

Rest the dough.

Place the smooth dough ball into the warm greased bowl. Turn the dough one time so that you leave the top part oiled. Cover the bowl using plastic wrap then position in a warm place. Wait until the dough rises to about twice its original size. This might take about 45 minutes.

Monitor your dough while it rises. Test the dough to see if it is risen well. Poke with your finger.

If the indentation slowly rises back, your dough is ready for shaping. If it rises very quickly, the dough needs more rising time. If it doesn’t spring back, it has rested too long.

Punch down the dough. Turn the dough onto the floured work surface and gently stretch and press into a rectangle. Roll up the sides into a thick cylinder, pinch the seams closed on each side, and turn so the the seams are underneath. Place in the prepared loaf pan, cover with a towel and allow to rise for another 10 to 15 minutes. The sides, after resting, should come in contact with the sides of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375° F (190 ° C). Bake until golden brown, or for 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the pan and cool on a rack before slicing.

Serve your cassava yeast bread with your favourite meat or vegetable.

See how easy it was? This bread didn’t last long. Before I passed for a second slice, it was finished lol. More recipes to come. Coming up next …we doin’ one for the vegetarians. Stay tuned.